Hollywood's treatment with the Irish hasn't always been especially positive. The shelves of your local blockbuster are filled with drunken, racist, head-busting Irish cops and psychopathic IRA operatives, to say nothing of the proliferation of Leprechaun movies, both in and out of the 'Hood. The flip side to these stereotypes is the comparatively benign singing Irishman, a whimsical soul with a song in his heart even when it isn't on his lips. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's a short history of the Irish on screen in musical form- green beer optional.
First up is Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Disney's 1959 Ireland-set family adventure. Nearly half a century on, the film is an innocuous charmer, but the most thought-provoking thing about it is the casting of a young Sean "Scotland Forever" Connery as the Irish romantic lead. If you ever wanted to hear Connery sing, here's your chance, as he regales us with "Pretty Irish Girl."
Next up is the trailer for Finian's Rainbow, a movie that's notable both as a late-period Fred Astaire vehicle and an early film from Francis Ford Coppola. Rainbow was Astaire's last big-screen musical, and he's a lot of fun in the title role opposite a pair of very sixties costars, Petula Clark and Tommy Steele. The movie itself suffers from some of the bloat common to roadshow musicals of the day, but it's still solid entertainment.
Skipping ahead a few decades, here's a performance of that classic Irish folk song "Mustang Sally" as performed by The Commitments, taken from the Alan Parker film of the same name. Naturally, this is a far cry from the singing leprechauns and folksy charm of the previous videos, but it's entertaining in its own right. Whatever happened to lead singer Andrew Strong? Judging by his performance in the film, the guy's got some seriously shiny pipes. Also, see if you can spot future Once star Glen Hansard.
Finally, no St. Paddy's day would be complete without this rendition of "Danny Boy" performed by a trio that requires no introduction. Enjoy!